May pinagdaraanang midlife crisis noon si Arnie Trinidad nang magmistulang answered prayer ang bodega sa kanilang compound.
Ang bodegang ito ay ginawa niyang tiny house. Pero hindi lang ito basta-basta tiny house.
Ang small space na ito ay sumisimbolo sa kanyang privacy, independence, at practicality.
a small space called home
Si Arnie na taga-Antipolo, Rizal, ay kumukuha noon ng PhD sa Ireland. Sa mga panahong iyon ay naramdaman niya ang personal crisis.
“I didn’t know what I wanted because I was having misgivings about the PhD: whether I was going to return; if I was going to return, where I would be living,” lahad niya sa OG.
Tila answered prayer nang nag-message ang kanyang ina para sabihing pinalinis na ang bodega sa kanilang compound.
Sambit ni Arnie, “It gave me an idea that when I returned after my PhD, I wanted to transform that into my own small space. My own small home.”
Hinangad ni Arnie ang independence, pero ayaw mapalayo sa kanyang inang 90 anyos na ngayon.
“So the tiny house is actually within the compound of our house and my mother lives a few steps away.”
Itinuon niya ang atensiyon sa pagpapaganda ng small space at umayon sa hinahangad niyang “minimalist life.”
Paliwanag ni Arnie, “I didn’t want to be tied down to consumerist objects, to properties, and what-not, because I wanted to simplify and downsize my life in a lot of ways.”
Kung maitatayo niya ang tiny house, maaari siyang mamuhay ng “minimal life, frill-free, and simple life where I am unencumbered by stuff that you own.”
Sabi pa ni Arnie, “It’s really nice to live in a tiny house in a sense that it’s easy to clean… clutter free, it’s easy to maintain also. So it’s a very ideal life for me, in fact.”
Ang ginamit niyang disenyo sa house ay inspired ng Japanese author at organizing consultant na si Marie Kondo. Ang pinagbasehan din niyang interior design ay Japanese-style aesthetics.
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SMALL SPACE MAXIMIZED
Ang naging approach ni Arnie sa small space ay i-maximize ito.
Ang bodega ay mayroong kabuuang floor size na 21 square meters. Pero gumawa siya ng nine-square-meter loft na kanyang tulugan, kaya umabot ang total floor area ng tiny house sa 30 square meters.
Sa loob ng bahay ay mayroon siyang munting office space. Sinabihan niya ang karpintero na gumawa ng maraming cabinet.
Dahil isa siyang teacher, marami siyang libro at papers at kailangan ng mga paglalagyan ng mga ito.
Katabi ng kanyang office space ay ang living area na may two-seater couch.
Katapat ng living area na ito ay ang dining area na may table at two seats.
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Kadikit naman ng dining area ay ang kanyang kitchen area na may maraming cabinet dahil hilig ni Arnie ang pagluluto.
Katabi ng kitchen ay ang pinto papasok sa kanyang Asian minimalist bathroom and comfort room.
Right on top of his bathroom ay ang kanyang loft na may queen-sized bed.
Ang hagdan naman paakyat sa loft ay gawa sa palotchina. At ang space right under the stairs ay pinagawan ni Arnie ng mga cabinet para sa kanyang mga damit at iba pang kagamitan.
“The important part about the tiny house, actually, is the storage space. It’s easy for the house to get cluttered if you don’t have enough storage space for your stuff,” sabi ni Arnie.
Ang initial budget niya sa pagtatayo nito ay PHP300,000, pero umabot ang total ng PHP350,000.
HAPPY WITH HIS TINY HOUSE
Maliit man ang kanyang bahay, wala nang mahihiling pa si Arnie.
Pero paalala niya, kailangan maging “intentional” sa mga plano kapag nais magtayo ng tiny house.
Aniya, “Because of the small space, you make sure that you don’t buy things that you don’t need. You only buy things that will actually fit the house.
“And you also realize you don’t actually need a lot of things to be happy.
“Because it’s easy to clean, I don’t have to spend a lot of time cleaning and maintaining the house.
“And because of that, I can do other things that I want to do with my life.
“I can also save more money to engage in things that I love doing, like travelling, like reading, and going hiking.”